Plato and the Other Companions of Sokrates, 3rd ed. Volume 2
Plato · en
In continuing to recognise Hipparchus and Minos as Platonic works,
contrary to the opinion of many modern critics, I have to remind the
reader, not only that both are included in the Canon of Thrasyllus,
but that the Minos was expressly acknowledged by Aristophanes of
Byzantium, and included by him among the Trilogies: showing that it
existed then (220 B.C.) in the Alexandrine Museum as a
Platonic work. The similarity between the Hipparchus and Minos is
recognised by all the Platonic critics, most of whom declare that
both of them are spurious. Schleiermacher affirms and vindicates this
opinion in his Einleitung and notes: but it will be convenient to
take the arguments advanced to prove the spuriousness, as they are
set forth by M. Boeckh, in his "Comment. in Platonis qui vulgo fertur
Minoem": in which treatise, though among his early works, the case is
argued with all that copious learning and critical ability, which
usually adorn his many admirable contributions to the improvement of
philology.
M. Boeckh not only rejects the pretensions of Hipparchus and Minos to
be considered as works of Plato, but advances an affirmative
hypothesis to show what they are. He considers these two dialogues,
together with those De Justo, and De Virtute (two short dialogues in
the pseudo-Platonic list, not recognised by Thrasyllus) as among the
dialogues published by Simon; an Athenian citizen and a shoemaker by
trade, in whose shop Sokrates is said to have held many of his
conversations. Simon is reported to have made many notes of these
conversations, and to have composed and published, from them, a
volume of thirty-three dialogues (Diog. L. ii. 122), among the titles
of which there are two--[Greek: Peri\ Philkerdou=s] and [Greek: Peri\
No/mou]. Simon was, of course, contemporary with Plato; but somewhat
older in years. With this part of M. Boeckh's treatise, respecting
the supposed authorship of Simon, I have nothing to do. I only notice
the arguments by which he proposes to show that Hipparchus and Minos
are not works of Plato.
In the first place, I notice that M. Boeckh explicitly recognises
them as works of an author contemporary with Plato, not later
than 380 B.C. (p. 46). Hereby many of the tests, whereby we
usually detect spurious works, become inapplicable.
In the second place, he admits that the dialogues are composed in
good Attic Greek, suitable to the Platonic age both in character and
manners--"At veteris esse et Attici scriptoris, probus sermo, antiqui
mores, totus denique character, spondeat," p. 32.